Wardens Hunting Gatorlike Reptile

May 31, 1985

Animal-control wardens in Hickory Hills, more accustomed to rounding up stray dogs and an occasional raccoon, were beating the bushes Thursday for a 4 1/2-foot-long reptile considered dangerous to children and small animals. The 2-year-old green caiman, a tropical member of the alligator family, escaped Sunday from a backyard cage belonging to John Kamysz, 9344 S. 80th Ct., Police Chief Peter Hurst said. The search focused on drainage ditches, ravines and retention ponds, but the caiman may have made its way to a nearby golf course or the Palos Forest Preserve.